The present invention relates to power level measurement devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to the sensor or probe head portion of a power level detector, which is physically exposed to the incident radio frequency power level.
Radio frequency detectors often utilize Schottky barrier diodes for power level measurement in the radio frequency spectrum. The detection characteristics of such diodes utilized for power level measurement is limited to approximately a 50 dB usable dynamic range, typically in the -70 dBm to -20 dBm range. This range limitation is characteristic of diode utilization for signal detection, limited to stay within its square law range.